PHOENIX (AP) – Pima County Regulatory Agency lifted its mandatory face mask policy for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in most public facilities on Friday, a day after federal health officials issued similar guidelines.
The board voted 4: 1 to change the mandate to a recommendation for people who are not fully vaccinated and are in facilities like public transport and schools for everyone. Tucson Mayor Regina Romero announced she would ask the city council to vote on a similar action next week, despite having reservations as it is impossible to tell who is vaccinated. She also shot at Governor Doug Ducey, who withdrew the ability of cities and counties to mandate in March.
“Because we masked ourselves and followed the advice of our public health experts, we are in a position where there are few cases and we can take additional steps to fully return to normal,” Romero said in one Statement by executives, here in Tucson we’ve listened to our public health experts and we’ve followed the science since this pandemic began. “
Pima County and the cities of Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, and a few others refused to obey Ducey’s waiver orders. He allowed them to slow the spread of the coronavirus last June.
The Mask Ordinance in Phoenix remains in effect. The city said lifting its mandate would require a city council vote.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday eased restrictions on wearing masks for fully vaccinated people. Officials advised that those who received their recordings should continue to wear masks in crowded indoor spaces such as public transport, hospitals and shelters for the homeless.
Developments on Friday come as Arizona’s daily number of new COVID-19 cases continued a week-long upward trend. 854 known new COVID-19 cases have been reported along with nine other deaths.
The latest figures from the State Department of Health Services come from cities and counties grappling with whether to follow new guidelines and allow those fully vaccinated to stop wearing masks for the most part, as Pima County did on Friday Has.
As of Saturday, the daily case numbers in Arizona have been ping-ponged in the range of 400 to 600 plus.
Arizona’s total number of cases and related deaths since the pandemic broke out now stands at 872,022 and 17,447, respectively.
The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 rose slightly to 594. The number of patients in an intensive care unit fell to 193.
To date, more than 5.4 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the state. More than 3 million, or 43% of the eligible Arizona population, received at least one dose. It is estimated that over 2.5 million people are fully vaccinated.
Public health officials expect the demand for cans among 12 to 15 year olds to increase starting Thursday. The seven state locations on the Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, and Flagstaff subways dispensed over 6,000 cans, according to the state.
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